Reporter’s prelude: Summer is a time for adventure. Vacation from work or school, coupled with favorable weather, creates the perfect combination for trying new things outside. And Central Oregon is a hot spot for summer sports and recreational activities.

This time of year, outdoors aficionados flock to the area for a variety of pursuits, among them golfing, mountain biking, running, kayaking and rock climbing. For those willing to venture beyond Central Oregon’s staple summer pastimes, dozens of other fair-weather sports and activities await.

Join me as I try some of the region’s more offbeat athletic offerings — some for the first time. This week, I try disc golf.

Golf is not played only on manicured carpets of turf.

In disc golf — a sport similar to conventional golf — discs are used to tee up, drive, shoot from midrange and putt through the air, tossed by players with the goal of landing a shot in an elevated metal basket in as few throws (strokes) as possible. Each shot must be made from the location where the previous throw landed.

Disc golf, known less formally as Frisbee golf, is commonly played on a combination of wooded and open terrains, and many courses are located in public parks. A course typically consists of nine or 18 baskets (similar to the number of holes on a standard golf course), and games can be played solo or in groups of several players.

Central Oregon is home to several disc golf courses, most of which are free to the public.

“It’s a fantastic place to play (disc golf),” says Ryan Lane, a member of the Central Oregon Disc Golf Club, who cites the area’s “unique landscape” of juniper trees and sagebrush as a selling point. And disc golf can even be played in the snow, he claims.

Lane, 33 and of Bend, helped start the club in 2001, and it now includes roughly 200 members. “We formed the club with the intention of expanding the sport and getting more courses in the area,” Lane says.

According to Lane, the club played an active role in the establishment of a permanent nine-hole course located in northeast Bend’s Pine Nursery Community Park, which Lane cites as “the first real course within Bend’s city limits.”

Compared with club-and-ball golf, disc golf is relatively inexpensive to play. Where they are charged at all, fees for course use are minimal. And discs, according to Lane, cost about $10 to $20 apiece, depending on the material (higher-end discs tend to be made of more durable plastic).

The sport is played with a variety of discs that range in weight, circumference and thickness, and that differ from standard Frisbees. Discs are categorized as drivers, midrange and putters, and they feature distinct beveled edges designed to cut different paths through the air, Lane explains.

“Start with a midrange disc,” suggests Lane. “They are the most controllable and have the most accurate response to what the body is doing.”

Discs usually weigh between 150 and 155 grams, Lane says. In general, he observes, “lighter discs are easier to throw.” However, heavier discs are good to use “if you want more snap (arm speed and power in your throw).”

Lane recommends wearing shoes with good lateral support, such as a pair of sturdy hiking boots, when playing disc golf. “You’re doing a lot of rotating,” he explains.

Physically, disc golf works the shoulders, arms, back and core (inner torso) muscles, according to Lane, and involves “a ton of bending down to pick up the disc.”

Playing a disc golf course usually adds up to a couple of miles of walking each game, which, as Lane notes, provides substantial cardiovascular exercise. Compared with conventional golf, “disc golf is a little bit more athletic — you’re using your body more,” he says. In disc golf, “our bodies are the clubs, and we have essentially different balls that we hit, depending on the shot.”

My turn

Before last week, I had chucked a Frisbee in the park numerous times but had never played disc golf. To be honest, I did not know that discs used in disc golf were different from Frisbees.

My knowledge of the sport expanded when I was given a brief introductory lesson by Lane at Pine Nursery Community Park. The park’s flat, landscaped course is ideal for beginners, said Lane, noting that the course “is easy to find your way around.”

To concentrate on technique, we began the tutorial on one of the park’s grassy soccer fields. The easiest way to learn how to throw a disc, Lane said, is to set up a target or pass the disc back and forth with an intermediate or advanced player.

“You can learn a lot by playing with experienced players,” he noted.

First, Lane went over some safety basics.

“Never throw the disc when there’s the potential it could hit another user of the park area,” he instructed. “If anyone is in the potential strike zone, yell ‘Fore!’ before throwing.”

He then demonstrated one of multiple proper ways to grip the disc (see “Quick tips”) for a backhand throw. Next, he showed me one grip method for a forehand throw, with the index finger stacked on top of the middle finger and the pad of the middle finger flat against the vertical wall of the disc’s rim.

I then learned how to throw a basic drive using a midrange disc.

“Your eyes should always be on the target (when throwing),” Lane explained. Also: “Keep your (throwing) elbow close to your body when winding (preparing to release) the disc to keep it flat.”

With a disc in my right hand, I turned my right shoulder toward the target for accuracy, as instructed by Lane, and threw the disc at a cone located roughly 150 feet away. The disc curved sharply to the left, landing only about 50 feet away from me.

“Bring your arm all the way through,” said Lane. “When releasing the disc, it should really snap — not glide — out.”

I focused on snapping the disc during my next throw, keeping my wrist and forearm relatively loose but my grip firm as Lane instructed. On that attempt the disc flew farther, landing a little closer to the target.

Lane then demonstrated how to throw a forehand “hyzer,” which entails releasing the disc with the nose of the outer (leading) edge angled down, causing the disc to curve to the right (when thrown with the right hand).

He also showed me how to throw a forehand “anhyzer” by releasing the disc with the outer edge angled up, causing the disc to curve to the left. As you might expect, for a right-hander, a backhand hyzer will curve the disc left and a backhand anhyzer will curve the disc right.

Finally, Lane taught me how to putt — or gently throw the disc a short distance.

“It’s like shaking hands with the basket,” said Lane as he demonstrated a putt, reaching out his throwing arm before softly releasing the disc.

After practicing a few putts, I headed to the disc golf course to try throwing at a basket. To my frustration, my throws did not land anywhere near the first basket, and it took me eight throws to finally get the disc in: about five “strokes” over what Lane said would be “par” on most recreational disc golf holes.

My aim improved only slightly by the end, but I still enjoyed the challenge (and exercise) that the game provided.

Lane offered me some encouragement.

“You can’t go out there and think you are going to throw well at first,” he said. “Every time you play, it’s all about besting your previous best.”

If you go

Central Oregon is home to a number of disc golf courses:

Black Butte Ranch

What: Nine-hole course

Where: Milepost 93, U.S. Highway 20, northwest of Sisters

Cost: Free

Central Oregon Community College (open during summer months)

What: Nine-hole course

Where: 2600 N.W. College Way, Bend

Cost: Free

Dry Canyon course, West Canyon Rim Park

What: Nine-hole course

Where: 1018 N.W. Rimrock Drive, Redmond

Cost: Free

Hyzer Pines course (

Near Coffield Community Center in Sisters)

What: 18-hole course

Where: 1750 W. McKinney Butte Drive, Sisters

Cost: Free

Juniper Hills course, Juniper Hills Park

What: Nine-hole course

Where: East Ashwood Road and Northeast Bean Drive, Madras

Cost: Free

Mt. Bachelor ski area (Open through Sept. 2)

What: 18-hole course

Where: 13000 S.W. Century Drive, Bend

Cost: $9-$17 chairlift tickets (day or evening) or $49 summer disc golf pass

Pine Nursery Community Park

What: Nine-hole course

Where: 3750 N.E. Purcell Blvd., Bend

Cost: Free

Sundance Meadows

What: Nine-hole course

Where: 60335 Arnold Market Road, Bend

Cost: $5 day-use fee for nonmemberse_SClBGet involved

Central Oregon Disc Golf Club: www.centraloregondiscgolf.com

An informational club meeting will be held this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Cascades Hall, 2600 N.W. College Way on the Central Oregon Community College campus in Bend.

Quick tips: The essentials

1. Get a handle on it

“Proper grip is the most important step before even throwing (the disc),” says Lane. To properly grip the disc, place your thumb close to the edge on the plate (top) of the disc and your other four fingers below the disc, he says. “Put a little bit of pressure (on the disc) with your thumb. The tighter your grip, the more snap and rip (force) you can put on the disc.

2. Master the drive

First, position yourself at a 90-degree angle from your target, Lane says. Then, swivel your body and “reach across your body as far as you can with your throwing arm (laterally across your chest), keeping your arm straight.” Finally, release the disc and follow through.

3. Focus on legwork.

“A lot of people get so engaged in the motion of the arm, hand and wrist (when throwing),” says Lane. “It’s just as important to get the legwork right.” While legwork varies with the type of throw, says Lane, following through — or stepping through a throw — is vital for balance and speed. “You essentially want to create the most force that we can (while throwing),” he adds. To do so, “you need to use every part of the body possible.”